To Hit Hard, To Survive the End Game

There is a nice symmetry in the list, with two X-Wing aces at 38 points and two Bandits, who generally serve to purpose of being a nuisance to my opponent.

Though the two X-Wing aces cost me the same amount of points, they fly very differently on the table.

Wedge Antilles is not nearly as survivable as Poe Dameron. He rarely survived the games.

He did deal massive amounts of damage and I was really, really positively surprised with the BB-8 + Push the Limit combination. I knew it was good. I didn’t know how good. It makes the X-Wing extremely maneouverable (for an X-Wing) and allowed Wedge Antilles to deliver his trademark killer-attacks right where he needed them to be. With or without Wedge Antilles, this is a combination I will certainly use again (with a T-70 X-WingRed Squadron Veteran or even Poe Dameron himself).

Poe Dameron in this build was the exact opposite to Wedge Antilles, as far as X-Wing-builds go. With Autothrusters, re-rolls from Lone Wolf and the ability to regenerate shields, he was meant (and usually was) built for the end game, the last ship on the table, where he excelled at wars of attrition.

Again, I am happy to report that Poe Dameron served excellently in this faction.

In one game, circling with an equally mobile and nearly as robust IG-88 Aggressor, I was able to wear my opponent down through many, many turns of shooting and shield-regenerating.

It wasn’t the finest game of X-Wing ever played, but it shows Poe Dameron’s potential for the long game, assuming he does not die early in the game to a concentrated barrage.

Final Thoughts?

Did I win the tournament?

No. I was beaten soundly by a Scum-&-Villainy-Swarm full off M3-A Interceptors and only just managed to eke out a small, technical victory by points against a Squadron of Y-Wings with Twin Laser Turrets and Corran Horn in an E-Wing.

That said, both X-Wing were tons of fun to fly. They were also effective in their own right and complemented each other well.

A fun list, and I will definitely fly something along those lines again!

The StarViper, signature ship of the Black Sun elite in the Star Wars universe, is a very unique and well-designed ship, both in its looks and how it plays on the table, even if the expansion is perhaps often bought mainly for its upgrade cards.

There is a lot to talk about, so I will split this unboxing of the StarViper Expansion Pack for the X-Wing Miniatures game. into two parts.

The StarViper miniature

Let’s talk about the StarViper ship as a miniature.

The StarViper is an elite ship, and its design and size give it a suitable presence on the table. It is one of the larger ships on a small base in the X-Wing miniatures game, though its vertical design make the model far less wobbly or prone to snagging other miniatures than, for example, the likewise large (for a small base) K-Wing.

The StarViper also has that somewhat intangible „Star-Wars-look“, that (in my humble opinion), not all Scum and Villainy ships managed to capture.

It certainly is, to me, a big visual draw to building a Scum and Villainy squadron.

StarViper: An Elite Dogfighter

The StarViper is a high-end dog fighter. It comes with 3 attack, 3 agility, 4 hull and a shield (!), as well as the ability to both boost, barrel roll and target-lock, putting it on par with a TIE-Interceptor with hull upgrade, shield upgrade and targeting computer (minus the ability to evade).

At 25 points for the most basic pilot – the Black Sun Enforcers – it is not a cheap ship. Its excellent mobility and reasonable resilience make the StarViper an excellent platform for an elite Scum-and-Villainy-arc-dodger.

Moreover, any StarViper can equip a torpedo, giving the ship the option for some extra punch. Curiously though, the StarViper cannot, by default, use the Scum and Villainy faction’s trademark illicit upgrades.

The StarViper’s Manoeuver Dial

If the StarViper has an excellent statline for a nimble dog-fighter, it’s manoeuver dial is just as great.

It can perform all speed 1 and speed 2 maneuvers, making it extremely mobile in close quarters. Many of them are also green maneuvers, allowing the StarViper to shed stress relatively easily.

The StarViper can also cover distance with a straight 4.

Most notably, however, it can use the Segnor’s Loop maneuver, a new manoeuver first introduced to the X-Wing Miniatures game with the Scum and Villainy faction (though the Episode VII TIE/Fo-Fighters since learned to copy this trick).

Part 1 Summary

In summary, I have to say I really like the StarViper. It is a unique-looking ship, which – especially in absence of a large ship like the Slave I – makes a splendid centre-piece for a Scum-and-Villainy-squadron.

The StarViper clearly feels right at home in the thick of things, dodging and weaving around enemy ships at close range.

In part 2 of this unboxing, I will therefore take a look at some of the upgrades and named pilots of this expansion, seeing if the best pilots in the StarViper can match the game’s more famous arc dodgers like Soontir Fel or Tycho Celchu.

I made the following Rebels X-Wing list and took it for a game at the club. This is clearly not a tournament list or anything of this sort. The idea here was to fill the list with as many of the new Episode VII Rebels toys from the starter as possible.

I played against an Imperial squadron of elite pilots in nimble, arc-dodging ships, including Echo (TIE-Phantom) and Carnor Jax (TIE-Interceptor).

This three-part series will detail my thoughts on

Poe Dameron and the T-70 X-Wing

Tycho Celchu with Wired

The Rookie Pilot with BB-8

Poe Dameron and the new T-70 X-Wing

The Logic behind this Build

Poe Dameron presented a bit of a conflict for me.

One one hand, I wanted to test/get the most out of his pilot ability. An obvious, often recommended synergy is his ability with R5-P9, who allows Poe Dameron to use his „saved“ focus token to regain shield at the end of each turn.

One the other hand, I also wanted to try the new Tallan Roll of the T-70 X-Wing, a red maneuver that prevents the focus action (and doesn’t sit well with abilities like Push the Limit). I opted for Adrenaline Rush to have it both ways in one turn.

My Thoughts after Playing

Tallan Roll: The Tallan Roll is by far my favourite novelty of the T-70 X-Wing. It allowed Poe Dameron to keep slippery Imperials like Echo in his sights, allowed him to dodge Carnor Jax and his deadly short-range fire and kept my opponent on edge.

Part of the maneuvers appeal may be its novelty, which may wear off as people get used to it, start predicting it, but so far I am loving it.

Doing the Tallan Roll just once with an Adrenaline Rush was definitely not enough and I played the maneuver a few more times, stress or no stress, for good results.

R5-P9: I was less impressed with R5-P9, despite the obvious synergies. I believe I only used the droid to repair a shield once in the game.

Partly, this was due to the repeated Tallan Rolls, which denied Poe Dameron a focus token in the first place, which in turn was possibly a result of flying against a squadron of nimble arc-dodgers.

I can see how Poe Dameron’s pilot ability and R5-P9 could work a lot better, especially against less agile ships, especially those with a turret.

It just has not worked for me like this in practice.

Final Thoughts

The T-70 X-Wing, Poe Dameron in particular, represent a bit of a conundrum:

Should I equip Poe Dameron for resilience, using focus, in ability and a suitable astromech to keep him healthy?

Or should I play him for maneuverability, getting the most out of Tallan Rolls and boost actions to dance around asteroids or enemy ships?

Flying an X-Wing like a far more nimbler ship is certainly fun, and the pay-off for a well-placed maneuver with an X-Wing is nothing to sneeze at, even if Poe Dameron may not by the wisest T-70 X-Wing pilot to choose for this approach.

The former, more tanky approach might prove to be the more reliable one, especially if ships like the VT-49 Decimator or YT-2400 are on the table.

It is a tricky choice, but arguably also a sign of excellent game-design behind this ship.

The box comes with one T-70 X-Wing miniature. Unlike the TIE/FO Fighter, which is largely a cool variant paint-job, the T-70 X-Wing clearly is a different model with a longer cockpit, a more square nose and, most notably, a split turbine on each side in the place of two smaller ones on the old-school X-Wing.

I like what Disney did with the ship’s design. It is still clearly recognisable an X-Wing, while giving one of the most iconic designs in movie history an update.

I am looking forward to seeing it fly in the new Star Wars movie.

A New & Improved X-Wing

Like the new TIE/FO Fighter, the new T-70 X-Wing packs a lot more umpf per point than its predecessor.

Comparing the basic Pilot-Skill-1 pilots, we see the T-70 X-Wing brings …

All-green maneuvers at Speed 2, where the old X-Wing only has the straight maneuver at Speed 2 as a green.

For all this, the T-70 X-Wing costs 3 points more at the same pilot skill. That is not a lot of points for all this.

While an extra shield makes the fighter slightly more robust, the main emphasis with the T-70 X-Wing appears to be all about improving maneuverability.

This is clearly different from the changes to the Episode VII TIE-Fighters, which – already maneuverable – ultimately gained more tricks to deal a bit more damage.

As with the First Order pilots, the new T-70 pilot also display the new logo of the New Alliances, essentially a colour-inversion of the old Rebels-logo.

New Alliance (left) and Rebel (right) pilot cards

The T-70 X-Wing Pilots

There are four different T-70 X-Wing pilots included in the core set.

The Blue Squadron Novice is the cheapest pilot with a pilot skill of 2. Unlike the non-unique TIE/FO pilots, there is only one card included (as there is only one miniature for the T-70).

The Red Squadron Veteran, for 26 points, comes with a pilot skill of 4 and the ability to take an Elite Talent, one of the most versatile and popular upgrade-slots in the game.

.Two unique pilots in the box are the „Blue Ace“ and Poe Dameron, the latter arguable the only true „named“ character in the box (perhaps aside from BB-8 below).

The „Blue Ace“ is an odd entry, bringing even more unpredictable movement to the T-70 X-Wing, but losing, compared to the Red Squadron Veteran, the ability to take an Elite Talent, making him far less versatile.

Finally Poe Dameron is the star of this selection, with a pilot ability reminiscent of Luke Skywalker’s built-in defence from the original core set, if more versatile. His incentive to „safe“ a focus token is a nice new twist on the tokens/action rule.

New Upgrade Cards

Of course, the new T-70 X-Wing can take the Weapons Guidance and, where applicable, the Wired Elite Talents I already talked about. The new astromechs are, of course, unique to the New Alliance/Rebels double-faction.

R5-X3 is cheap. As with Wired, I like these new, more affordable upgrades. It has a place in this box, particularly for beginners, allowing you to make one piloting-mistake without consequences. Perhaps there also are some advanced strategies to use the droid and asteroids to your advantage.

BB-8 is already a Star Wars fan-favourite from the movies, and the rolling robot brings his signature ability to an X-Wing he joins.

Because BB-8’s ability triggers before the actual green maneuver is executed, a popular combination is to combine him with the Elite Talent of Push the Limit to perform two actions (one of them the BB-8 barrel roll) before the green maneuver clears the stress gained from Push the Limit.

Final Thoughts …

I like the look of the new T-70 X-Wing.

As with the TIE/FO Fighter, I like how FFG is pushing the established X-Wing mechanics in creative new ways to keep the game interesting.

I am a bit disappointed how the new T-70 X-Wing so clearly overshadows the venerable and iconic old X-Wing, which is already a rare sight on many tables.

That one gripe aside, I am excited to get this ship on the table and try the new tricks!

The core set comes with two of the new TIE/FO Fighters. The miniature itself appears to be identical to the old TIE Fighters, though the paint job is obviously different: white panels, black structure, red cockpit and a red accent on the roof.

It also seems to be a cleaner paint job than the old TIE Fighter without a dark wash.

Let me just say that they are very nice models. In my opinion, they will also mix nicely with old models in a black-and-grey squadron or swarm.

A New & Improved TIE Fighter

The new TIE/FO Fighter also is a better ship than the old TIE Fighter. The New Order apparently takes slightly more care of its pilots than the Empire.

Comparing the basic Pilot-Skill-1 pilots, we see the TIE/FO Fighter brings …

One shield

Target Lock

The new tech-upgrade slot

The ability to do Segnor Loops (first seen in the Scum & Villany’s IG-2000).

For all this, the TIE/FO Fighter costs 3 points more at the same pilot skill. That is not a lot of points for all this

Shields and maneuverability are nice, but it is the new Target Lock I find most intriguing. Obviously, the TIE/FO Fighter still cannot take missiles or rockets, but FFG based several pilot abilities of unique pilots in the TIE/FO Fighter’s Target Lock.

Also, as the First Order is a new (sub-)faction, the new pilot cards come with new backside artwork.

First Order (left) and Imperial (right) pilot cards

The TIE/FO Fighter Pilots

There are nine six different TIE/FO Fighter pilots included in the core set.

The Epsilon Squadron Pilot is the cheapest, with a pilot skill of 1.

The Zeta Squadron Pilot comes with a Pilot Skill of 3 for one additional point, mirroring the old TIE Fighter’s Obsidian Squadron Pilot.

Two copies each are included in the X-Wing: The Force Awakens Core Set.

The Omega Squadron Pilot is the best non-unique pilot. His ability to take an Elite Talent makes him quite versatile. Parallels the old Black Squadron Pilot.

„Zeta Ace“ is a unique pilot, who can also take an Elite Talent and may use the longer 2-movement (8 cm) for barrel rolls for extra maneuverability.

Finally the top pilots.

„Epsilon Leader“ can remove stress from (all!) nearby ships at the start of the Combat phase (after actions). An extremely useful ability to have, both in a TIE/FO Fighter swarm or near pilot/ship-builds that build up stress.

„Omega Ace“ finally draws on the TIE/FO Fighter’s Target Lock with a potentially devastating ability to score guaranteed critical hits. It will take some synergy with other ships and Elite Talents (e.g. Expose, Push the Limit) to pull off. If it works however, „Omega Ace“ can swing a battle in a single turn.

New Upgrade Cards

A total of five upgrade cards are in the new core set, two of which can be used by the TIE/FO Fighter.

Weapons Guidance is the first Tech upgrade in the game – likely a new type of upgrade to define all Episode VII+ ships, similar to how Illicit Modifications define the Scum & Villainy faction. It adds another offensive use to a focus token. Interesting, but – at first glance – hardly overwhelming.

Wired is a 1 point Elite talent. Being cheap as it is and the prevalence of stress in the game, I can see many, many good uses for this, though probably not with one of the TIE/FO Fighter pilots from the core set.

Final Thoughts…

I like what they did with the new TIE/FO Fighters (and not just the mean black visuals). They are no longer quite as „swarm-friendly“ as basic TIE Fighters.

However, they are still cheap and open to a lot of potential trickery and synergy-builds, something I always enjoyed playing X-Wing.

The Rulebooks

Along with a bit of advertising for other products from Fantasy Flight Games, the new X-Wing starter set come with three separate booklets.

1. A Learn-To-Play-Guide, which is nearly identical to the one included in the old – or „classic“ – X-Wing starter set, though a few rules have been revised.

2. A Rules-Reference-Booklet, which is a new addition that was not included in the old X-Wing starter set. It includes (almost) all the rules, which have been added to X-Wing in the various releases since the original starter set in 2012, for example the rules for Ion Weapons, Large Ships, Cloaking and more.

Though the old X-Wing starter did not include a comprehensive Rules Reference, many newer FFG-games, such as Imperial Assault, do include them these days.

3. A Mission Guide with three introductory missions using (only) the contents from the starter-box.

The Cardboard

The new starter comes with four card-board sheets full of tokens and game-materials, including plenty of tokens for the missions (right side).

One new addition is the „initiative token“ (upper right corner), which didn’t exist in the old X-Wing starter. Unfortunately, both sides feature the new X-Wing. Having a TIE-Fighter on the flip side for Imperial players would have been nice.

Another minor novelty is the new set of unique asteroids.

Also included are – of course – the new manoeuver dials. I will talk about those in more detail when I talk about the new ships.

It was probably no real news. As everyone expected, Fantasy Flight Games today announced individual expansion packs for the T-70 X-Wing and TIE/Fo Fighter included in the new X-Wing Core Set for The Force Awakens.

Like the old individual X-Wing and TIE-Fighter expansion, these come with different pilots and upgrades, which are not included in the starter set.

Let’s have a look at the new T-70 X-Wing.

The T-70 X-Wing Expansion

The T-70 X-Wing Expansion Set

The expansion seems similar to other small-ship expansions we’ve seen.

New T-70 X-Wing Pilots

Fantasy Flight Games previewed on new pilot for the new T-70X-Wing, who will be exclusive to this expansion: „Red Ace“.

T-70 X-Wing „Red Ace“

Definitely a cool pilot. A lot more powerful than old X-Wings and, obviously, works very well with anything that allows you to regenerate shields, say R2-D2.

Sadly, I am not a huge name of the fairly generic names of these pilots.

As planned, I took my K-Wing list to a local tournament today. I didn’t intend to win any prizes and mostly went to play around with the K-Wing. Even so, I am a bit disappointed by the K-Wing’s performance. It’s more fragile than it seems.

Of the 5 matches I played, I lost 4.

Match 1 – Lethal Twin Laser Turrets

The first game I played showed me an arguably better use of the Twin Laser Turret, which I used on Miranda Doni in the hope of getting the most out of her unique ability.

The two Twin Laser Turrents proved particularly lethal for Miranda Doni in her K-Wing. Shooting twice a turn each, the two Y-Wings put 3 – 4 dice of damage on her most turns. Needless to say, she didn’t last long.

After the K-Wing was gone, my Z-95 Headhunters didn’t stand much of a chance against Dash Rendar, despite the missiles I shot his way.

Match 2 – Victory Against the TIE-Punisher

The only match I won, I went up against a similar „let’s try the new bombers“-list.

This list was build around the TIE-Punisher, piloted in this match by Redline, which came out along with the K-Wing, bringing many similar upgrades to the Imperium.

Redline was supported, oddly enough, by a TIE-Defender and a TIE-Advanced. As high tech as the Imperium gets.

It was a good match-up, as my alpha strike list could really shine with its alpha strike against Redline. Moreover, my Ion Bomb helped me keep the TIE-Defender in place.

The result: today’s one and only victory for Miranda Doni.

Match 3- The Imperium’s Finest

In my third match, I went up against the first hard tournament list.

Darth Vader in a TIE-Advanced with the TIE/x1 Title and Advanced Targeting Computer

Whisper in a TIE-Phantom with Veteran Instincts and Advanced Cloaking Device

Soontir Fel in a TIE-Interceptor with Autothrusters and Push the Limit

Too many very elusive, slippery and hard-to-hit ships assembled there. I even scored a few hits on Whisper, but stood no chance against this lean, mean tournament-maschine.

To Be Continued…

My final two matches and my closing thoughts about the K-Wing in part 2.

That is a pleasant surprise. On the event of today’s Force Friday, Fantasy Flight Games officially unveiled their new starter set for the X-Wing Miniatures game, themed to fit the new Star Wars movie – The Force Awakens.

The pleasant surprise: It will already be available later this month (even today, if you can find a shop participating in the Force Friday thing).

The Force Awakens Core Set is now available as a special Force Friday release!

While The Force Awakens Core Set is currently only available at select Force Friday locations, it is now shipping for wider release, and you can look for it at your favorite local gaming store later this month.

That is definitely a great surprise for me. Though I knew it was coming, I assumed I would have to wait for the movie release in December to get my hands on the new The Force Awakens ships for X-Wing!

The Wave 7 ships for the X-Wing miniatures game are out, including the new K-Wing bomber for the Rebels.

It is easily my favourite among the new ships, both because I have a soft spot for the Rebels and because its Imperial counterpart, the TIE-Punisher, feels too close to the TIE-Bomber, visually and in the game.

So my K-Wing is ordered and should arrive soon. Time to try flying the new Rebel bomber in a tournament. But what kind of list would work?

K-Wing Star Pilot – Miranda Doni

Miranda Doni appears to be the pilot of choice in most ideas for K-King lists. It’s not hard to see why:

Her abilitiy to spend shields to up the damage makes her an excellent weapons platform.

Her ability to regenerate shields by trading in damage dice makes her an excellent end-game-pilot, doubly so given the K-Wing’s turret.

This in mind, here is a fully souped-up Miranda Doni-build I want to try.

It may be a bit much (47 points in a ship), but I hopefully get to try all the different K-Wing tricks and new toys.

A Homing Missile with 5 dice (with Miranda spending a shield) and no evade tokens? Ouch!

Double-tap Laser Turrent with double Focus tokens? A nice end game, allowing Miranda to generate a shield each turn and still deal reasonable damage.

Airen Cracken & the Bandit Wingmen

Miranda is made for end game wars of attrition (I believe).

The rest of my list is made to get her there and eliminate the kind of threads that could take her out with concentrated fire.

Going with the missile-theme, these three z-95 Headhunters, complete with Airen Cracken and his useful lend-others-an-action-ability should provide both an early-game punch to take out a thread quickly and leave me with a few blockers to make life hard for anyone chasing Miranda.

Z-95 – Airen Cracken (19) with Cluster Missiles (4)

Z-95 – Bandit Squadron Pilot (12) with Ion Pulse Missiles (3)

Z-95 – Bandit Squardon Pilot (12) with Advanced Homing Missiles (3)

Missiles in a Tournament? Can it work?

Conventional wisdom has it, missiles and torpedos in X-Wing are rarely worth it, especially in tournaments.

The K-Wing and TIE-Punisher seems largely designed around trying to change that, and with upgrades such as Extra Munititions, they at least get a few more shots.

This list likely isn’t going to win … say .. a regional championship, but with a heavy alpha punch and a solid end-game plan, I am interested to find out what the K-Wing can bring.

Let me know what you think!

Standard

A new maneuver – the Tallan Roll, which hasn’t been seen in X-Wing so far.